Turbine wheel



Eek 26 1924. 1,484,980

F. M. ZOTTOLI TURBINE WHEEL Filed Junes. 1,922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. M.ZOTTOLI TURBINE WHEEL Feb. 26, 1924.

Filed June 1922 2 Sheets-Shea FW him k b ,W W Ar-kys Patented F eb. 26,1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK M. ZOTTOLI, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TURBINE WHEEL.

Application filed June 6,

T 0 all "whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK M. ZOTTOLI, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Turbine Wheels, ofwhich the following is a. specification, reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings. V

The invention relates to a new and useful improvement in turbine wheelsand systems, and is an improvement on the invention shown and describedin an application filed by me December 3, 1921, Serial No. 519,7

One feature of the invention relates to the construction of the turbinewheel itself and its mount, and consists in so constructing the wheeland the float on which it is mounted that it will rise and fall as thewater rises and falls.

Another feature of the invention relates to the construction of thechannel or canal in which the turbine wheel is set so that the wheelwill be driven in whichever direction the currentflows, and toaccelerate and increase the force of the current.

Another feature of the invention consists in making the blades of thewheel hollow.

Another feature of the invention relates to the means for storing upwater in a reservoir during the rising of the tide to furnish a sourcefrom which the flow will be controlled to drive the wheel or wheels atthe change of the tide either full tide or low tide when the current isnormally very slow or dead.

As is well known the flow of the tide has the strongest current when itis midway between high and low and from that point it diminishes as itapproaches high tide or as it approaches low tide. One feature of theinvention is to provide means whereby the rate of flow through thechannel in which the turbine wheel is located will be maintainedpractically uniform throughout the various stages of the ebb and flow ofthe tide.

.Other features of the invention will be more particularly set forth anddescribedhereinafter.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionwhen'taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claimsat the close of this specification.

1922. Serial No. 566,396.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagram of a system for a single channeland reservoir embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a system with a single channel and a doublereservoir.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a system with a single reservoir and adouble channel.

the upper set of blades in staggered relation tothe next lower set ofblades on the same hub.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of one of the current controlling turbines shownin Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of a modifiedarrangement showing a channel with two turbine wheels disposed in a rowtransversely of the channel and cooperating with each other. 1

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of float andmount for a wheel.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged sectional view showing the construction of one ofthe hollow blades and its pivotal connection with the hub of the wheel.

. Referring now to the drawings, A represents one of the turbine wheelsembodying the invention which will usually be arranged in a system, asshown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, containing a plurality of said wheels. Thepreferred form of such wheel, as shown in Figures 4, 5, 7 and 9, has acentral hub 1, preferably made of some material which will float and ismounted on a shaft 2 in such manner that the hub is capable of moving upand down on the shaft and will rotate with the shaft. In the form shownthe shaft- 2 is formed with longitudinal ribs 3 so that it is sort ofstar-shaped in cross section, thatis, itis formed with a plurality ofradiating projections 3 and the barrel 4 of the hub l is formed with acor responding set of grooves with which said star ribs 3 engage, sothat the shaft will rotate with the hub and at the same time permit thehub to slide longitudinally thereon. Any other suitable" form ofconstruction may be employed which will permit seated a flange 12- whichengages over' the upperside of the head 7 of the shaft to hold the saidshaft from rising up out of its bearflu the upperend of the shaft 2 ismounteda gear wheel 13 adapted to'engage with a gear, not shown, fortransmitting movement to -the mechanism which is to be driven. Thepaddleblades 14 are pivotally con- 'nected with the hub 1 in series. aroundits periphery, as shown in Figures 4 and 9. Preferably the bladesinstead of extending the full height of the hub are divided intosections or into a series of sets one above another and with the bladesof one section staggered with relation to those of the adjacent setabove or below, as shown in Fig- 'ures 5 and 7. In Figure 5 there areshown three sets in vertical series. The object of arranging them in avertical series and staggeredis in order that more uniform action may beobtained. The sectional feature is shown in my prior application, No.519,- 7 53, previously mentioned but not in staggered relation. Y V

Each blade 14 is pivotally connected with the-hub at 15 as alreadydescribed, and a stop member 16 is provided at the back side of eachblade to limit the backward movement ofthe blade.

Preferably. each blade is made with a hollow interior 17, as shown inFigure 11, so that the blade may be light to aid in floating. 1 Whenthewater rises above the level of the top of the upper blade of thewheel, as viewed in Figure 5, the wheel will rise on the-shaft 2-byreason of the floating character of-the hub 1 and thereby at all timesreceive the full force of the current, as the current is stronger at thetop than at the bottom. I v w l If the water fa'lls below the upperseries of blades when the'wheel is at its lowest point, as shown inFigureb, then the blades 14 of this series will be-allowed to remainfolded against the hub 'until they are brought into contact with thecurrent again.

The hinged gate 18 is automatically operated by the current for twopurposes,-one is toextend the amountof currentwhich strikes against theblades of the wheel, and the other, is to deflect the current so that itwill be given direction toward the wheel to open the blades andconcentrate the current.

. In.- the modified form of construction, shown in Figure 10, toallowfor'the' vertical sliding movement of the wheel, the shaft 21. i

is madefast tothe hub 22 of the wheel and the shaft 21 is verticallyslidable in its bear-.

1 ing-23,-so that the shaft rises and falls with the wheel. The hub ofthe wheel is mounted in a float--24: having a passage 25 therethrough toallowrfor the passage of water.

-is employed, are intended to be set in a sluiceway having walls todirect the current or flow of water directlyagainst the blades of thewheel; A simple form of such con structi'on showing only a single wheelis illustrated in F iguret. "In this construction thesluiceway isprovided with two vertical walls 3080 and the wheel is set on end imidway between the two walls. The'wheel isadapted tobe driven from rightover to the left, as viewed in saidfigure and as will be plain from thedisposition of the blades, as thecurrent should strike against theconcave face of the blade.- As-shown in said the left. It isdesirablethat the current figure, the current for the time beingis' sup-'posed'to be flowing from the rlght-toward 7 should beslightly deflectedfrom a straight I course through the sluiceway so as to strike as nearlyas possible at right ang'les to the blades. The side walls 30' -3O ofthe sluiceway are preferably of just sufiicient distance blades areextended to the full, limit they will just graze by the side ofthewalhas shown atthe upper: part of Figure 4:. "In

order to deflect the current in thatdirection, there is provided avertical guide wall 81 extending toward the interior'of the sluice, wayon a curvefromthe wall :30 on the op- "posite side from-that to whichthe current isintended to be deflected. Onthe diametrically oppositeside-of the wheel there is anapart'fromeach other so that when the othercurved guide 32 whichis so set as'to 7 ust allow the blades of'thewheelto graze r by on the latter part of th ir for-ward sweep. "so as tostill keep the current substantially at right angles'to the plane of theblades.

This wall 32 issupplemented by a hinged V gate 18 to still continue thedeflection of the;

current until it has passed the center and 7 serving a similar purposeas the gate 18. I On thelatter half of the rotation of the: wheel,

that is, when the blades begin to travel.

"waterandtherefore they will be folded or partially foldediagainsttheside of'thehub we ofthe wheel, as clearly shown in Figure t,

:until they swing around toward the front past the finger 18 once moreready to begin their forward movement again.

As already stated, the apparatus is intended to operate equally wellwhether the current is flowing in one direction or the other, and is,therefore, adapted to be used in tide water where the direction of cur-.rent will flow for a period in one direction and then will reverse andflow in the other direction. In order, therefore, to deflect the currentwhen it is reversed so as to flow from left to right, as viewed inFigure i, there is provided a curved deflecting wall 31 similar to the[deflecting wall 31 but diametrically opposite therefrom, and there isalso provided a deflecting wall 82 directly opposite the deflecting wall:32.

' It is well known that the current of tide water flows the slowest atthe height of the flood and at the bottom of the ebb, and flows fastestat the intermediate stage, and it constantly decreases from saidintermediate stage to the height of the flood or to the bottom of theebb and conversely it increases from the two extremes to the middle.

One object of my invention is to provide means for controlling thisnormal variation, so that there will be a uniform rate of flow againstthe wheel at all stages. To this end I provide a sort of a gate at eachend of the sluiceway in which are mounted a plurality of turbine wheelsB placed parallel with each other and so constructed that they aresomewhat elliptical in shape viewed in front elevation, as shown inFigure 6, that is, tapering from the middle toward the top and towardthe bottom and placed as closely together as possible withoutinterfering with each other. These wheels furnish a sort of check to theflow of the water, the greatest obstruction being at the middle of thewheels where they are widest and the obstruction diminishing toward eachend. These are so set that the upper ends will be at about the level ofthe water when the water is at the highest and the lower ends will be atthe level of the water when the water is at the lowest. It will thus beseen that the water will be the least obstructed where the spacesbetween the tapered portions of the wheels are the widest and theobstruction will be the greatest where the blades of adjacent wheels arenearest together and just clear each other. Thus the degree of checkwill vary with the variation in speed of the current due to changinglevel of the water and a practically uniform rate of flow will bemaintained during all of the changes in tide level.

Preferably the wheels in these gateways are made in series one aboveanother, as plainly shown in Figure 6. As shown in Figure 6 these wheelsB are made in four vertical series. Those which are above the water willfor the time being be inoperative. The diflerence in the sweep of thewheels in the different series is obtained by varying the size of thehubs, the diameter to be varied .according to the check required at thecorresponding levels of flow.

It is not necessary that these check wheels shall extend :to the bottomof the sluiceway.

The shafts of these wheels are journalled in stationary bearings 3334,at the top and bottom respectively.

I also provide means to prevent blocks of ice and other floatingarticles to be carried into the sluiceway. In order to prevent the largeblocks of ice from being carried in, I provide rows of posts 35 at eachend of the sluiceway a short distance from the entrance and spaced apartfrom each other at any desirable distance. Preferably there are tworows, one rowoutside of the other, and the posts in one row are arrangedin staggered relation to the posts in the other row. Preferably also theposts in each row are in a line which makes an angle at the center, asclearly shown in Figure 4, the vertex of the angle pointing outwardlylike the prow of a boat, so that the lines of the posts will serve todeflect the blocks of ice or other large floating articles, liketimbers, and throw them off to one side as well as preventing theirpassage between the posts.

In order to still further form a guard against smaller floating objects,I provide a sort of stop or nose 36 composed of aboard or boards whichmeet at an apex 37 in the middle and diverge backwardly, and this boardextends across the entire end of the sluiceway from one side wall to theother. This board should not extend to the bottom but only a shortdistance down into the water, so that the water at all times flowsfreely under it. It should also extend for a short distance above thelevel of the water. In order that it may remain at all times atsubstantially the same height above the water and at a uniform distancebelow the top of the water, I attach theboard to floats 38, one at eachend and one in the middle, and in order that the floats may bemaintained in proper position I surround them with a guard formed inpart by the side walls 30 and in part by walls 39, which together withthe side walls 30 form float chambers for the floats 38. There is anarrow throat 4:0 to each chamber so as to allow the water to freelyenter the chamber, but the throat is so narrow that the float cannotslip out.

As alread stated, Figure l shows the simplest form of constructionhaving only a single water wheel which has a spread equal to the entirewidth of the sluiceway. In Figure 9 there is shown a construction for adouble row of wheel-s in the same sluiceway. The sluiceway is brokenaway &

so that only one wheel of each row is shown.

In this case the sluiceway will be made the right and the blades on theupper side of the lower wheel are moving toward the left, and thewheelsare so constructed that at the point where the two blades come thenearest together they will just graze each other. At this point thebladesof the upper wheel are folded and those on-the lower wheel are themost widely spread. The folded blades of the upper wheel serve todeflect the current against the blades of the lower wheel, thus servingthe function ofa deflecting wall. There will be provided, however, thedeflecting walls 31, 31 and 32, 32 connected with the side walls 30, 30for the same purpose as previously described in connection with Figure4:. There is required only one pair of fingers 18. 18 for the two wheelsinstead of two fingers for each wheel.

As already stated and as is well known. there is a short time at the topof the flood and at the bottom of the ebb when there is no current atall, and for some period of time before and after the top of the flood,and

just before and after the bottom of the ebb there is very little currentunder normal conditions.

Oneobject of my invention is to provide means to compensate for thisstagnation, and I accomplish this by storing up water in a reservoir atthe flood of the tide which may be utilized to create an artificialcurrent at the time when needed One simple form of this is shown inFigure 1. In this figure there is shown a sluiceway C bordered by thetwo vertical. walls 30, 30 in which are shown a series of turbine wheelsA. vAlongside ofthis sluiceway I construct a reservoir I) of which oneside may be one of the vertical walls 30; of the sluiceway and havingwalls 41 on the opposite side and at the ends. This reservoir hascommunication, as indicated at 4:2, with the sluiceway, and this iscontrolled by a. gate 43. When the water is near the height of the floodthe gateway will be opened so that the water will rush into thereservoir, and this will produce an increase in the rate of flow of thecurrent in the sluiceway to compensate for the normal sluggishness atthat stage of the tide.

The gate will be left open until the water flowing into the sluicewayhas sufficient current to perform the required work without theassistance of the reservoir, and then the gate should be closed. Thegate should be kept closed until at 'or'about the time when the tide isat the lowest,f and then the current being practicallyfdead't-he gate 43should be opened so as to let. the water from the reservoir rush intothe sluicewayf and produce a current to continue the driving of thewheels. The gates should be closed with the return of the tide after thewater has gained suflicient current or head to perform the workrequired, and remain closed until at or about the top of the tide whenthe gates should be opened to again fill the reservoir as before.

In themodification shown in Figure 2 there are provided two. reservoirsD, D, one on each side of the sluiceway. By this means the sluiceway mayberflooded from both sides. i

In this form of construction the end walls 45 of the two reservoirs areformed with walls which converge toward each other outwardly and areinclined to the side walls of the sluiceway. This is for the purpose ofproducing a deflection of the water.

In-the modification shown in'Figure 3, there is shown a single reservoirD of somewhat oval form, and a sluiceway C, which at each end of thereservoir divides into two branches C -C which pass around on oppositesides of the reservoir and unite again at the opposite end. There'is a'gate 43 at one end of the reservoir, and a second gate 44 across thesluiceway at's'ome distance away from the reservoir after the twobranches are reunited so as to. prevent the water from flowing out whilethe reservoir is being filled.

lVh-at I claim is: V

1. In combination with'a sluiceway, a plurality of turbine wheelsarranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway, each of said wheelshaving blades with hubs which have the greatest diameterat the middle ofthe axial length of the hub, and which have a diminished spread from themiddle toward each end, whereby the clearance space be tween the severalwheels in each row is greatest at the top and at the bottom of the wheeland diminishes toward the middle.

2. A turbine wheel having blades with hubs which have the greatestdiameter at the middle of the axial length of the hub and which have adiminished spread'from the middle toward each end.

3. In combination with a sluiceway so lo.- cated in a body of water thatthere is a constant flow of water therethrough, a plurality of turbinewheels each mounted on a vertical shaft in said sluiceway and ar rangedin series lengthwise of the sluiceway, a reservoir extending alongsideof the sluicewa surrounded by an enclosure, one side of the enclosurecomprising a wall which separates the reservoir from the sluiceway andhaving a gateway from the reservoir into the sluiceway, a gate wherebythe said way may be opened and closed at will so as to admit water fromthe sluiceway into the reservoir and to release water from the reservoirinto the sluiceway, and a plurality of turbine Wheels arranged in a rowtransversely of the sluiceway at each end thereof to regulate the rateof flow of the water from the sluiceway, each of the turbine wheels insaid series having blades with hubs which have the greatest diameter atthe middle of the axial length of the hub and which have a diminishedspread from the middle toward each end, whereby the clearance spacebetween the several wheels in each row is greatest at the top and thebottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle.

4. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water having acurrent which flows through the sluiceway and. which has a varying levelat difierent periods, a turbine wheel mounted on a rotary, verticaldriving shaft in said sluiceway, and a plurality of current regulatingturbine wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway betweensaid first turbine wheel and each end of the sluiceway, said currentcontrolling wheels each having blades with hubs which have a diminishingspread from the middle toward the top and toward the bottom, so that theclearance space between the several wheels in each row is greatest atthe top and at the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle,whereby when the level of the water is at the line Where the said hubshave the greatest spread there will be offered the greatest resistanceto the flow of the water and the resistance will be diminished as thelevel of the water rises above or falls below said middle line.

5. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water having acurrent which flows through the sluiceway and which has a varying levelat different periods, a turbine wheel mounted on a rotary verticaldriving shaft in said sluiceway, and a plurality of current regulatingturbine wheels arranged in a row transversely of the sluiceway betweensaid first turbine wheel and one end of the sluiceway, said currentcontrolling wheels each having blades with hubs which have a diminishingspread from the middle toward the top and toward the bottom, so that theclearance space between several hubs in each row is greatest at the topand at the bottom of the wheel and diminishes toward the middle, wherebywhen the level of the water is at the line where the said wheels havethe greatest spread there will be offered the greatest resistance andthe resistance will be diminished as the level of the water rises aboveor falls below said middle line.

6. In combination with a sluiceway located in a body of water so thatthere is a flow of water therethrough, a turbine wheel mounted on arotary shaft in said sluiceway, an anchored floating stop at theentrance to the sluiceway extending transversely thereof so that thestop will rise and fall with the rise and fall of the water in thesluiceway, said stop extending for some distance above and some distancebelow the level of the water but having at all times an open passage forwater below the stop.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

FRANK M. ZoTToLI.

